Hollow Repentance

- - - - - Izzy's POV - - - - -

I awoke again in the room I had practically lived in since arriving. I felt very refreshed today for some reason and at least this time, it was still daylight. The last time I had actually seen the sun, was the day Torren kidnapped me, before I arrived home. I dragged myself into a sitting position and glanced quickly down to my arms and legs and examined them hastily. Thank god, I wasn't tied up today, but that must mean that he was in here somewhere, but where?

I scanned the room and spotted three suitcases piled up against the far wall. I leapt to my feet upon recognising them and ripped them open simultaneously, rooting through my clothes cheerfully. Eventully, I found suitable jeans and my favourite top and quickly changed, tossing Torren's clothes to one side. I patted the dragon transfer on my shirt and smiled, turning back to the suitcases to dig through past the clothes to see what else he had brought. Toothbrush; hairbrush; notebook; all of the basics, really.

Reaching my hand to the very bottom of the suitcase, my fingers brushed against something small and solid. I pulled the object out and placed it in the palm of my hand, gazing down at it. My memory stick! I always kept my diary on this little driver, along with most of my memories. My entire life revolved around this, I was so pleased that Torren brought it for me, even if he didn't mean to.

I had to find a computer quickly, I wanted to update my diary about this ordeal, just incase I didn't make it out of here alive and anybody found it. Surely if I explained calmly to Torren about what I wanted to do, he would understand and take me to a computer. Although, it was a little dangerous, my whole life was on that memory stick and he might invade my diary. Anyway, Torren hadn't shown himself yet, so maybe he fell asleep wherever he was hidden. I would have time to find somewhere secret to get back up to date.

Slipping my memory stick into my jeans pocket, I zipped the suitcases back up and headed for the door. I didn't expect it to be open but I knew that I had a good chance of barging through and breaking the catch. I backed away from the door and charged quickly forward, pulling the handle down as I shoulder barged the wood with all of my might. I squealed as I fell through the door and crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

Sinking to my knees, I tried to catch my breath as the wind was knocked out of me. Okay. Well maybe the door was unlocked all along, but where was Torren? I'd already escaped the room so he was long overdue coming to drag me back. What was taking him so long? Was he just trying to give me a false sense of hope before attacking again? Maybe he had just been reckless and had forgotton to lock the door for some reason. Hopefully.

Suddenly, I heard voices below me and pressed my ear against the floor to hear the voices clearer. It was still pretty muffled, but I could make out the two voices; Torren being one and another of a man I didn't know. More importantly, however, it was obvious that Torren didn't know that I was out.Perfect! If I took this opportunity to find a computer, I would be able to update my diary quickly and then maybe even have time to find a way to escape. I knew there was very little chance of escaping in any case, so I was more likely to find a computer.

As quietly as I could, I crept along the hallway and tested each door along one wall to try and find one that was open. Returning back down the other side of the hallway, I stopped at the door next to mine, the last door I could check. Rattling the handle, I sighed. Nothing. The only hope I had now was to sneak down a flight of stair and check that hallway. It was the last floor before the ground floor where Torren was, so I had to be careful.

As quickly as I could without making a sound, I hurried down the stairs to the hallway below and set off, checking each door as I went. I reached one door and paused in front of it. It was different from the rest, it had a keyhole. Groping around in my hair, I pulled out a hair grip and unfolded it. Peering through the keyhole, I scanned that of the room I could see. There was a bed, a desk and a...computer!

Thrusting the hairgrip into the lock, I manoevred it carefully through the mechanism until I heard a light click and withdrew the clip. I dropped the hairgrip and stepped hastily into the room. It was a simple and spacious room and resembled an office, even though there was a large bed in the middle of one wall.

Sparing no time, I dived into the elegant office chair and switched the computer on, pulling my memory stick from my pocket and placing it on the desk beside me. I smiled. Things were starting to go right now, things were getting better. I watched as the black screen turned blue and a welcome message flashed up. I groaned as a message appeared asking for a password. I didn't know anything about Torren, so how could I even guess his password. Unless...

No, he couldn't be that easy to work out. Could he? I settled into the chair and typed: Password.

An automated voice rang out,
"Thank you, Sir Torren. Welcome back."

Hah, he was an idiot! It was obvious that a man of his age would use such a password, he must have such a bad memory. That would explain his mistake at forgettg to lock my door. I inserted my memory stick into the tower and typed my password to access my diary. As soon as I pressed enter, the automated voice sounded again.

"Password saved."

No! He had a history saving program installed?! Now he would know that I had used an unknown memory stick on his computer. That was the last thing I wanted and, even more so, he could get the password for my journal. I couldn't allow that. Anyway, there was nothing I could do now, just finish as quickly as possible and hide my memory stick out of reach. I opened my journal and began to type, recalling all of my thoughts and the events that had happened in the last few days. I had lost track of the date completely so I couldn't title the entries.

Eventually, I reached the last point about my ordeal that I could write so far.
So now I'm here in an office-like room, listening carefully for 'Sir' Torren just incase he comes looking for me. Who knows what will happen if he finds that I've left my room. If I don't make it, you know who the prime suspect is!

I leaned back proudly and closed the window. I completely forgot about listening for Torren and fell off the chair as I heard him yell angrily,
"She's gone! Where is she? Damn, I didn't lock the door. What was that?! She's on the first floor, help me find her, Aldin!"

Uh-oh. He's coming. I knew I wouldn't have time to leave the room, so the window was my best bet. I ripped open the curtains and looked out of the window to see the porch roof only a few foot below. I opened the window and swung my leg up to climb through the window. My leg collided with the wall merely inches below the window sill. There was no chance I was going to get out unless I went head first. Before I could dive through the window, I heard footsteps echoing down the hallway, kicking open the doors as he ran.

I swiped my memory stick from the tower and stuffed it into my pocket, ducking down beside the bed in the instant the door flew open. I watched through the underneath of the bed as a pair of feet entered the room cautiously. It felt like something out of a horror film. I recognised the shoes as Torren's, so I knew what he was capable of. If I was to get anywhere, everything had to work perfectly. I silenced my breathing as he pulled the office chair behind him and typed at the computer for a few moments. Standing up in front of his desk, Torren spoke to me, somehow knowing that I was in the room.

"So, you came into my office, did you? I.S.K's stuff. I don't know what it stands for, but I know that there's something personal on that memory stick. Come on out from behind there, child. There's no point in hiding."

Slowly, I rose from the ground and edged slowly towards him, eying him cautiously as I approached. I stopped a metre away and dropped my gaze. I heard Torren chuckle and glared up at his smug expression, repulsed by his ignorance.

"Good choice, my child. There may be some hope for you yet. I see you found your suitcases, then. Come on, let's go back upstairs."

I walked closer to him and paused when he had turned his back. Before he could realise what I had down, I kicked at the back of his legs and knocked him off balance.

"No! I'm not your child, Torren!"

Turning and running as fast as I could towards the window, I dived for the hole. I crashed onto the porch roof, but I wasn't free yet. I had known it wouldn't be that simple. No chance. Glancing behind, I spotted Torren leaning out of the window, gripping onto my ankle desperately.

"Oh no you don't, child. Come on, back in. Argh!"

I watched in confusion as he released my leg and recoiled back into the room, glaring at me menacingly from the shadows. I didn't know why he wasn't coming after me, but I felt safe on the porch roof for now. I decided to remain there for a while, just until I caught my breath properly, then I could make a whole hearted sprint to escape. I held eye contact with him constantly, waiting for him to come out after me. Torren merely leaned against the window frame, calling for me to come back inside.

Several minutes passed and I felt as ready as I ever would for running. I stood up carefully and took a last glance at Torren. He was...smiling? What was wrong with him, he was being stranger than usual. Suddenly, I understood. A pair of large muscular arms wrapped around my neck in a chokehold and I heard both Torren and the man behind me burst into laughter. I struggled for breath as he held tight, screaming with what little of my voice I could muster. Damn it! He had tricked me again.

Then again, I had taken out bigger people that this man before. It was just a matter of timing, striking at the opportune moment. Just as I raised my leg to kick him as high as possible, I heard Torren's voice ring out cheerfully and glared up at him.

"Thanks, Aldin. I'm glad that you can go outside right now. Hurry up and bring her back inside, even you can't stay in contact for too long. Oh, and watch out for her legs, she's like a kangaroo and man, does it sting when she catches you properly!"

"I hate you, Torren! Get off of me, you freak! Who do you think you are? I could just..."

I smiled slighty and elbowed Aldin, if that was his name, in the stomach and followed through by kicking him in the shin before running to the the edge of the porch roof. Glancing back to Torren, who was staring at me in awe, I quickly saluted him before leaping from the porch to the hard ground below. Just as before, I scrambled to my feet and set off along the path with Torren shouting to me from the window. I had merely made it ten metres when I heard Aldin landing on the floor behind me and glanced quickly behind to see him closing in fast.

I wasn't going to make it very far sprinting in a straight line, so I took a detour into a maze of hedges I had spotted to the right of the path. I weaved through the hedges for what seemed like hours until I reached a pool. Wow, Torren even had his own pool! He must have been pretty rich to own such an elaborate house. It was just too bad he didn't have an attitude to match. Suddenly, I saw Aldin approaching round the corner of the nearest hedge behind me and dodged his arms as he swung blindly for my own.

I set off around the edge of the pool, hoping to tire him out by keeping as parallel with Aldin as possible around the poolside. As he chased me around the water, I stumbled and slipped on the damp tiles and squealed, regaining my footing and continuing around the pool edge, struggling to keep up with Aldin's pace.

"Watch out, kiddo! The floor's slippery and it isn't safe. Just calm down and come back to the house before Torren gets angry with you."

I ignored him and sped up, taking larger paces as I ran. Suddenly, I lost my footing, slipping feet first into the pool, banging my head roughly on the poolside as I fell. I screamed as I fell into the icy water. The water was crystal clear and I could see the water staining red as I sunk. Oh my god, I had split my head open! I started to panic. I resurfaced, flailing my arms around desperately.

"Here, give me your hand, kiddo. I'll help you out."

Whether he was intending to take me back to Torren or not, I didn't care. I blindly swung my arms towards him and gasped as I felt Aldin lift my body swiftly out of the water by my collar and sleeve, dropping me gently onto the poolside. I gasped for air and shrieked as Aldin wrapped his arms around my upper body, even over my arms, and stood up, walking hastily back towards the mansion. I would have fought back, but I was too tired and dizzy to struggle and it was probably for the best with my current condition if I returned.

I let my head fall forward and closed my eyes as I lost the energy to even hold them open. I felt a sudden rush of wind and opened my eyes drowsily to find Aldin climbing through the window back into the office with me still held firmly in his arms. I groaned as I spotted Torren approaching with a smug grin on his face. I closed my eyes once again and allowed my head to drop back down.

I heard Torren gasp. He must have spotted the blood running down the side of my face or the stain on my shirt.

"Koerta... Aldin, what happened? Never mind, thanks for your help. I'll fix her up straight away. See you tomorrow, mate."

I felt Aldin's arms loosen as he dropped me gently to the floor and leant me against the bedpost. I know that I should have been grateful, but why on the floor? Why couldn't I have been put in the bed, or at least on that comfy office chair. I opened my eyes slightly and spotted Aldin leaving as Torren knelt in front of me with a twisted bedsheet in his hands. I groaned as he loosely tied me to the bedpost.

"Urgh, not again. As if I could even get up!"

Torren chuckled lightly and stood up, patting me on the leg as he left the room. I closed my eyes and dropped my head forwards, struggling to remain conscious and awake. A few minutes later, I heard soft footsteps approaching the room, followed by a light breeze from somewhere in the room. I opened my eyes slightly as Torren knelt back down in front of me and took hold of my chin lightly.

"Oh dear. Come on then, child. Lets get this cleaned up. Keep still for me, please."

I didn't really want to stay, but I had no energy still, although slightly more than I had before. I relaxed against his hand and gazed up into his sympathetic eyes. I could tell he was worried and, to be honest, so was I. I glanced down at what Torren had brought in, curious at what he was actually planning to do. A bowl, a cloth and... a vial? As Torren started to wipe the blood and clean up my wound, I kicked my legs lightly and mumbled,
"What's the vial for? Planning on poisoning me, are you?"

"Ah, so you're getting a little delerious, are you? Maybe you better have this now, then. Open your mouth, my child."

I tried to resist Torren's grip but it was no use. He released my chin and my head fell back against the mattress instantly. I gasped as Torren leant over me. What a stupid mistake! Just as I opened my mouth to gasp, he poured the liquid through my parted lips and clasped his hand over to stop me spitting it back out. I reluctantly swallowed the vulgar tasting substance and moaned as Torren released me with a quick smile and finished cleaning up my wound.

Suddenly, I felt much more awake and energetic. I opened my eyes widely and glared menacingly at Torren. He smiled but I ignored it and yelled at him, so quickly even I wasn't quite sure of what I was saying.

"What the hell have you given me? Who was Aldin, then and how long am I tied here for this time then? Huh? Well? Tell me! Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Torren shook his head and murmured,
"Damn it, too much. Now I'll have to give you the antidote, as well. Umm, I have some liquid sugar for you, Koerta? Open wide."

For some reason, I believed his drivel and allowed him to feed me the strange liquid. Within moments, I could feel myself returning to normal and sighed contently. Torren chuckled and sat next to me, relaxing against the bed as he asked casually,
"So, now that you're sane again, where's your memory stick, child? I'm very interested to know what you're hiding on there."

Straining my arms as far as I could, I patted my pockets to check that my memory stick was still there while yelling at Torren,
"How dare you?! You don't have the right to invade my privacy. I won't let y-- Oh no, it's gone! I must have lost it somewhere. Gah, just my luck."

I gasped and stared at him as he climbed to his feet and headed over to the doorway.

"Wait, where are you going now? You can't just leave me here!"

He turned and leaned for a few moments against the door frame, chuckling as he called over to me,
"Don't worry, I'll be back in a minute. Literally."

I rolled my eyes at him and sighed as he disappeared into the hallway. I heard his footsteps suddenly stop and relaxed my body for a little while, expecting him to at least take half an hour with whatever he needed to do. I gasped as I saw Torren arrive back in the room and sit in the office chair in front of me. Leaning over, Torren grinned broadly. I stared at him as though he was mental, which he probably was.

"Look what I found. You don't mind me having a quick peek, do you?"

I gasped and struggled desperately as he waved my memory stick in front of my face. I yelled at him as loud as I possibly could and kicked at the feet of the chair. Torren turned around and started typing on the computer again while I struggled to break free. There was no way he was going to see my journal, especially not with what I had just wrote on there about him. He would kill me! I growled at him angrily. Torren merely laughed and turned back to me, holding the memory stick less than a metre away from me.

"What, would you like it back? Here, take it if you don't want me to have a look. And just so you don't think I won't be able to go on anyway, you might want to know that your password is 'JKKKZKISK'. That's a very complex password, child."

I struggled desperately to take the memory stick back from him, even though I knew there was no point. He was going to look no matter what, and there was nothing I could do about it. I sighed in disappointment as Torren swung around on the chair and plugged the memory stick into the tower once again. I snarled viciously.

"Don't you dare read my diary, Torren. That's my private journal and it's not meant to be read, especially not by you!"

He turned to me, his eyes wide and his mouth opened slightly. I felt a little apprehensive of him, but I suppose that was because he was about to invade my life and there was nothing I could do to stop him. He snapped back to reality and glanced at the memory stick, and then back to me.

"Your journal is on here?! This could be fun. The typical girl's diary, I wonder how many times you've kissed a boy then, haha!"

I frowned and turned my gaze to the floor as Torren opened my journal and entered my password. I stared at the floor as he read through my entire journal, murmuring snippets as he read.

"...I don't know why I did it. I just...bit him."
"Once the headteacher had finished shouting at me, I decided to have my turn at shouting at him."
"I swung round and punched him in the nose. Stupid 18 year old boys!"

Very quickly, he finished and closed the program, removing my memory stick from the tower and shoving it into his pocket. I could tell that he was a little annoyed. I was no mind reader, but the way he roughly pushed my legs to either side to kneel in front of me, sort of gave me a clue. I gulped loudly as he drew closer to me, running his fingers through my hair playfully. I growled and twisted my neck in every direction I could to try and pull myself away from him.

Torren sniggered sinisterly and whispered in a sarcastic tone,
"So, you don't like me, child? You've certainly wrote a lot about me in your little journal, but it wouldn't make much of a story to read. Certainly not the typical girl's diary, so lets add something then..."

I slammed my knees towards him and stared at him in horror as he caught my legs before I even reached him, pinning them to the floor with his feet as he sat higher on his knees.

I glared at him as he laughed in my face. I gasped as he leaned in towards me, balancing himself with his arms on the bed at either side of me. He was going to kiss me?! No way that was going to happen. I lowered my head as far as possible and turned it to one side. It was all that I could do, but I thought it would have been a clear enough message for him to back off. Unless, he already knew and didn't care anyway... Damn it!

Chuckling softly, Torren reached out a hand and lifted my gaze to meet his. I pulled my face away from him in disgust but found myself facing him once again within seconds. He tightened his grip and drew in so close to me, I could feel his breath against my skin. I shivered as I stared into his dark bottomless eyes, horrified. I struggled desperately and growled in a choked voice as a lump caught in my throat,
"I hate you. You have no respect for my privacy, urgh, or personal space."

"I know. You can't be trusted with either of them, so I'll take them for safe keeping!"

That was the lamest play on words I had ever heard. I made to retaliate, but in the same instant, Torren held the back of my neck with his other hand and locked our lips together roughly as I struggled helplessly against his grip. After what seemed like forever, he broke away and I choked to catch my breath. I was completely stunned. I knew that he was going to do something like that before he did, but even so; I wasn't ready for it. Torren sat in front of me and smirked as I pulled a disgusted face.

Slowly standing up, he headed over to the bedside cabinet and lifted a glass of water from the cabinet top. I was still too shocked to speak when he returned to my side. I eyed him cautiously as he pressed the glass up to my lips. Glancing at him, I decided that it was safe to drink and swallowed several large mouthfuls before turning away angrily.

"Koerta..."

Spinning my head to face him, I gasped as he ran his finger across my lips and smiled in satisfaction. I glared at him menacingly, although I was a little confused. Somehow noticing, Torren chuckled sinisterly and murmured,
"You tasted a little dry, so I knew you were thirsty."

I roared in anger. I was sick of him picking on me. It was my turn now! I squirmed frantically against the bedsheet and whispered, "Yes!", as the bedsheet loosened and dropped silently to the ground.

"Hey, get back here!"

Just as he spotted me, I burst through the door and sprinted blindly towards my room. As I ran, I heard Torren's footsteps growing nearer by the second, making me run even faster. This time, I had a simpler purpose; to just get away from him. Within no time, I found myself in the right hallway and darted into my room, slamming the door shut behind me and dragging the set of drawers in front of it. That would buy me some time.

Turning to face the room, I almost fell over. This wasn't my room. Urgh, I ran into the wrong one! Great, now I didn't even have the balcony to escape from. Wait, which room was this? It was filled with clothes and personal belongings but, as far as I knew, only Torren lived here. Unless...

I heard Torren's muffled yells through the door. He wasn't happy.

"Koerta! Get out of my room, now! Open this door before I break it down. You'll regret it, child!"

This was his room?! Yes, time for some snooping, I think. Chuckling to myself, I started rooting through the drawers and cupboards, shouting randomly to Torren as he persisted to bang furiously on the door.

"Mmm, boxers...Lovely. And such fashionable designs, too. I might have nightmares now! Ooh, and what's this? A gol--"

I jumped as Torren yelled as loud as he possibly could, projecting his voice in his anger.

"Will you stay out of my drawers?! Or better yet, get out of my room!"

I laughed loudly, although I was a little apprehensive about his temper, and glanced around the room for something that I could do that didn't involve his drawers or cupboards. Eventually, I found something and, even though it was pretty boring, it was sure to annoy him.

"Okay, I'll stop rooting through your drawers... I'll just try on your dressing gown instead. Wow, this is massive! The arms are like twice as long and it drags on the floor. Snuggly!"

I chuckled as he banged ever more furiously on the wood, certain that he was going to break through soon, and then I would be in for it. Oh well. I was in big trouble now anyway, so why not enjoy the power while I had it? I wrapped the dressing gown securely around me and rolled the sleeves back, withdrawing a tattered book from one of the large pockets.

Examining it carefully, I traced the initials on the cover with my finger. The book was a perfect shade of black with the initials K.A.T inscripted on the front in gold. Well, it didn't look very interesting, but it was in Torren's room, so it must have had some significance to him. Flicking the book open to the first page, I decided to see what it was.

"Ooh, what's this? K.A.T, what does that mean, then? Hmm, lets see. 'November 23rd, 2014... Yet again, I responded to a special request from the hospital. Upon arriving, I was briefed on a patient's history and issue, although no names were given for confidentiality reasons. She had witnessed a horrific murder. The doctors then led me into a dark room in the ward whe--"

I gasped as I felt a chair drive into the back of my legs, knocking me roughly into the seat. The book flew out of my hands and the sleeves of the dressing gown dropped back down to their original length. As if attached to a spring, I leapt back up to my feet and spun around, but, there was nobody there! I started to panic and edged slowly backwards.

Suddenly, I crashed into something and large hands jolted out from either side of me, grabbing the opposite sleeve and pulling it behind my back. I couldn't move my arms at all. Glancing over my shoulder, I glared at Torren as he smiled broadly at me. How the hell did he get in here?! I yelped as he dragged me over to the bed and sat down, pulling me onto his lap and trapping my feet inbetween his legs so I couldn't escape. Again.

Tugging on the dressing gown, he pulled me closer to him and whispered childishly,
"I should really get a straightjacket. I need one to keep you under control! And it works wonders too, doesn't it, my dear?"

I snarled at him viciously, even though I wasn't as angry as I was from the kiss earlier. To my surprise, he growled back at me playfully and I knew where this was headed. But I wouldn't be playing...

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